Lari Basilio is one of my all-time favorite guitarists, and I was super excited that she was coming into the AMS Studio to play with the AMS Jam Band on a little song called “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson.
Lari brought her signature crystal-clean tones (along with all her other signature gear) to the song and laid down a jazzy, funky rendition of the classic track. She even stuck around after the jam to walk us through her rig and show off all her super-cool Laney gear. It’s a jam you don’t want to miss!
Lari Basilio Rig Walkthrough
Ever wonder what kind of gear you need to make one of the best clean to edge-of-breakup tones in the guitar universe (at least in my humble opinion). All you need is an Ibanez, Laney Amp, and a few choice pedals — most of which are Lari Basilio signature models, of course.
Lari Basilio Amp and Cabinet
Lari Basilio has played Laney amps for years. They’re one of the main secrets to her incredible tone.
For this jam, she rocked the Laney Lionheart L20 head with matching Laney Lionheart LT212 cabinet. At only 20 watts, the Lionheart L20 is perfect for jamming or recording in smaller studios without blowing your ears out. And the matching 2x12 cabinet really fills out the sound — and looks good doing it! If you want clean, warm, edge-of-breakup tone, the Laney Lionheart has you covered.
Laney Lionheart LT212 2x12 Guitar Extension Cabinet
Special Price $1,049.00
Lari Basilio Pedalboard
Lari Basilio doesn’t need a giant pedalboard to create great tone. Her signature sound really comes down to a few choice overdrives, delay, and a FANTASTIC reverb. Of course, there are a few “extras” hiding in the middle of the chain for special occasions, but the real tone comes down to a few choice pedals:
- JHS Morning Glory V4 Overdrive – Everyone loves the Morning Glory, and that includes Lari Basilio. It’s one of the three main overdrives on her pedalboard.
- JHS Violet x2 – The JHS Violet is Lari’s signature distortion pedal, and she loves it so much that she has two of them on her board, each designated for different gain stages. The Black model is for high gain and Violet is for medium gain.
- Secret Path Black Country Customs – Lari loves reverb, and this is her favorite because of the slight shimmer. Of course, it’s also her signature reverb pedal built in collaboration with Laney, so what’s not to love!?
- TC Electronic Flashback Delay – Lari mainly relies on reverb for her tone. But she does have one delay pedal that she really only uses for one song.
- Seymour Duncan Vise Grip Compressor – Lari doesn’t use the compressor much. It’s really just an “in case of emergency” pedal. But you can’t go wrong with anything made by Seymour Duncan.
Laney Secret Path Black Country Custom Reverb Pedal
Special Price $220.79
Lari Basilio Guitar
Finally, Lari Basilio rocks her signature Ibanez, the LB1. It sports a T-style body with HSS pickup configuration — using her signature Seymour Duncan pickups, of course. With the five-way blade switch and Alter Switch, it can create 9 different tones, which is perfect for someone as versatile as Lari.
Although she played the Black and Gold version for the AMS Jam, it also comes in white and, Lari’s favorite color, Violet.
A HUGE Thanks to Lari Basilio and Laney
Lari Basilio is really a world-class guitarists and world-class person. We had an absolute blast playing “Man in the Mirror” with her in the AMS Studio, and we’d like to send a huge thanks to Lari for spending the day with us and Laney for setting it all up.
If you want to channel your own inner Lari Basilio, check out all the Laney products right here at American Musical Supply.
